All plans for this workshop are a "go" as of June 12th!
We have changed the venue for the Friday classroom session to a larger spot just down the road for more social distancing.
We'll be watching the Governor's mandates carefully and will notify registrants case anything drastically changes which would affect us.
Would you like to learn everything you need to properly care for old gravestones: from basic cleaning techniques to multi-step repairs? Consider registering to attend this beginner workshop.
Joe Ferrannini of Grave Stone Matters of Hoosick Falls, NY will lead the workshop to be held Friday through Monday, 10-13 July. This intensive beginner four-day workshop is hands-on but you can also attend as an observer.
We start with a very informative classroom session in the Lubec Town Hall at 40 School Street, Lubec on Friday morning, and then we will walk over to the cemetery to cover techniques for cleaning stones and straightening leaning stones. Joe will also cover how to cast a new base; how to mix and work with stone-specific epoxies and soft mortars; clamping, setting, and lifting techniques; and much more. Every workshop is different as you never know what you will run into as you start working on a stone.
You may be familiar with Lubec because of its iconic red and white striped West Quoddy Head Light. The setting is beautiful with the ocean just across the street from Bayview Cemetery where we will be working.
This is a Beginners Workshop to teach all the skills covered in past MOCA four-day conservator-led workshops. Participation is limited to those who have not participated in a previous MOCA four-day workshop.
This is a unique opportunity to learn about gravestone preservation and acquire essential conservation skills as well as practice through hands-on experience.
Learn how to:
- Properly and safely clean and repair gravestones
- Straighten leaning stones
- Reset fallen stones
- Build and rebuild bases
- Repair broken stones using epoxy
- Infill
- Use a tripod for resetting monuments
- Ensure what is happening in your local cemetery is safe for the stones
Ideally participants will attend all four days, but that’s not always possible. We cannot forecast what activities will happen on which day, as the instruction and practice are based on what onsite damage we find as we work in the cemetery.
Directions
Accommodations
Workshop Waiver
There is NO registration fee for this workshop.
Our MOCA Workshop Committee urges workshop participants to donate as generously as they are able to help cover workshop expenses of about $1,000 per day. Any funds collected in excess of program expenses will be re-invested into the MOCA workshop fund.
Don’t hesitate to register based on your ability to donate, however. Our goal is to promote the use of correct materials and practices when working in cemeteries and to encourage workshop participants to share the skills they learn.
Donations will be accepted each day of the workshop. Checks should be made out to MOCA.
Additional Work Session
Following the workshop, our hosts, the Lubec Historical Society, will be sponsoring Joe Ferrannini for three additional days of work at this oceanside cemetery. These work days will be Tuesday through Thursday, 14-16 July. If you have participated in past MOCA workshops, come and help. The participants of the workshop are also encouraged to stay and put their just-learned techniques into practice.
